It's funny what a shift in perception does to a person. For the first time ever, I looked forward to coming home...and for the first time ever, I'm having a great time. It's exhilarating how easy it is. In a dozen different ways the town has been saying "Welcome back!". I've been home for less than a week, and already I have a job, airtime at KAXE and the role of laundress/chorus member in the Grand Rapids Players production of "The Christmas Carol." When I visited Brewed Awakenings, my purchased drink earned me a free beverage of my choice!
I do worry about my sanity in being a "boomerang" young adult. This hometown is by no means perfect. There's not a lot of young people like myself who are "with it." The smart and ambitious usually move to the Twin Cities and beyond, and I fear those who don't have lost some sort of struggle to break free from the backwaters of the Iron Range. Who would choose to return to a community that has always experienced economic stagnation when the country is in the midst of the Great Recession? Have I commited economic suicide just so I could live somewhere closer to my comfort zone?
Thing is, this town is the antithesis of my comfort zone. Throughout my youth, I felt alienated and alone. For years my plan had been to leave town as quickly as possible and never return.
Then I did leave, and walked the earth. My travels include Nicaragua, Vietnam, Spain, and Iowa. I've learned that happiness cannot be found in a particular place like eggs on Easter morning. Furthermore, most cultures don't expect people to go very far from home. Travel? Yes. Pilgrimage? Very much so. Permanent uprooting? From what I've read, Grapes of Wrath being an extreme example, this usually causes more unhappiness than staying put.
Besides, what's not to love about a town with multiple lakes within city limits, the Mississippi, and more forests than the inhabitants know what to do with? It took me a while to admit it, but I fit into this place like one of Mom's knitted mittens fit onto my hands. As far as I'm concerned, my homecoming is a fresh start. It's also a chance to put into action my favorite bumper sticker commandment: think globally, act locally.
Then I did leave, and walked the earth. My travels include Nicaragua, Vietnam, Spain, and Iowa. I've learned that happiness cannot be found in a particular place like eggs on Easter morning. Furthermore, most cultures don't expect people to go very far from home. Travel? Yes. Pilgrimage? Very much so. Permanent uprooting? From what I've read, Grapes of Wrath being an extreme example, this usually causes more unhappiness than staying put.
Besides, what's not to love about a town with multiple lakes within city limits, the Mississippi, and more forests than the inhabitants know what to do with? It took me a while to admit it, but I fit into this place like one of Mom's knitted mittens fit onto my hands. As far as I'm concerned, my homecoming is a fresh start. It's also a chance to put into action my favorite bumper sticker commandment: think globally, act locally.
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